


One

by orphan_account



Category: Homestuck
Genre: AU, F/F, F/M, Fighting, M/M, Multi, Original Character Death(s), Romance, ghost - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2016-03-14
Packaged: 2018-05-01 19:14:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5217554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which John Egbert is dead, and the only one who can see him is his best friend's older brother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 01%

**Author's Note:**

> Yoo I'm Libby. This is my first official story yikes. I'll try to update often, but that probably won't happen because i forget things a lot whoops . But yeah, lemme know what you think, i guess !! uwu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unexpected

John rubbed his eyes as he looked around the Strider household. It was sad.... Really fucking sad, actually. He couldn't understand, What... What was going on? Everyone was dressed in black formal-wear. Flowers were around, People were sobbing, and yet, John couldn't understand why. He shuffled down the hall, peeking around before he saw Jade, crying into the shoulder of a sad looking Rose Lalonde. "Hey... Depressing place, isn't it?" He asked the girls jokingly. He immediately noticed something was off when neither of the two even bothered to look at him. He walked closer and waved his hand in Rose's face. She looked as if she didn't see him. John grew concerned, even a bit uneasy. What the hell was happening? Why was he being ignored, had he done something wrong? Then he caught a glimpse of himself in the hallway mirror. He gasped at what he saw, his hand flying up to cover his mouth. He was extremely pale, his face covered in cuts and bruises. His eyes had no pupil or iris, but they were just a blank space of a smoky white. His hair was a mess, and his clothes were caked in mud. "W-What?!"

Come to think of it, he couldn't even remember what had happened before... Well.... At least a week ago. Now the youngest Egbert was scared. He hurried to the living room, and he felt like he was going to be sick at what he saw. It was a room full of his friends and family. They were all crying, even his best bro Dave. That's what was most shocking. He moved forward a bit, and almost screamed. It was him...! But also... Not.... Fuck! He didn't understand, his mind was just a mass mess of jumbled thoughts. He was in a coffin, and extremely cleaned up. A major improvement of what he'd seen earlier. A black suit, with his hair neatly groomed and his glasses removed from his face. Next to the coffin sat a picture of the boy with his birthdate scribbled neatly at the bottom. April 13, 1996. Then another date. November 8th, 2015. Suddenly, he turned back to the crowd of people. They still wouldn't even glance at him! Shit! John suddenly snapped. He bolted over to Dave, grabbing at him and screaming at the blonde boy as an attempt to get some answers, anything. "DAVE! DAVE! FUCKING ANSWER ME, YOU ASSHOLE!" He sobbed, but to no avail as he slowly slid to his knees. The red-eyed strider didn't even take notice to the crying boy at his feet, just wiping at his watery eyes. John ran from the room. He needed to collect his thoughts and find out what was happening. He sat on the floor in the small dining area. Then his train of thought was shattered as another pair of fancy dress shoes stood in front of him, just right in the corner of his peripheral vision.

He looked up from his gaze on the cold, tile floor and saw Dave's older brother, Dirk, standing there. They had been once good friends.. Acquaintances.. Gah, John honestly didn't know what to call the eldest Strider. All he knew was that the man was super cool. "Great. Another fucking person who cant see me. Just what i need." John grumbled, covering his ghastly face. "John?!" The man said in shock. "Woah.. What? Y-You can see me..?" The pale-eyed boy stammered back, eyes wide. Dirk stuttered, just as confused as John. "I-I thought you were dead?!" Dirk lost his cool for a moment. Meanwhile, John's whole world came crashing down upon him. "D....Dead?" His voice cracked slightly, his body starting to tremble like a leaf. What was Dirk saying, There was no WAY that could be true! Ghost didn't exist... Right?

Through his moment of complete confusion, and a result of being so overwhelmed, John then goofed up. In his weary state of pure shock, he murmured the most stupidest thing imaginable. "But... But if I'm a ghost.... Then why can't I fly?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is just short and intially crappy but it gets beTTER I PROMISE AHH


	2. 02%

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dirk and Johnny boy discuss their problems

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD I AM SO SORRY I FORGOT MY AO3 PASSWORD IM FLIPPING BUT I PROMISE ILL TRY AND UPDATE THIS REGULARLY FROM NOW ON I AM SUCH SHIT AHH

"YOU JUST FOUND OUT YOU'RE DEAD AND YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT WHY YOU'RE NOT FLYING??" Dirk asked in disbelief. He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he was talking to his little brother's dead best friend at his own funeral. Huh. Sounds like some weird fanfiction or something. John shook his head quickly, laughing nervously. "T-This has gotta be just some sick prank, right??? C'mon man, you're just playing around r-right?" John asked, trying to conceal the panic welling in his eyes. "John I-... I don't know what you want me to say right now man?!" Dirk exclaimed, his hands sliding out of his pockets and going up in the air. "I'm just as confused as you man! I'm talking to a fucking ghost like i'm on the Ghost Busters dude i'm freaking out here!" Dirk didn't know exactly how to approach the kid! 'Hey dude i'm sorry you're dead on such short notice lets just go kill your heart even more by making you attend your own funeral service. BECAUSE THAT'S DEFINITELY WHAT A RATIONAL MAN WOULD DO. To be fair, though, what was happening right now probably wouldn't happen to a rational man so. Dirk just shook his head. "I don't know what other way to put it, Kid. You've been dead for about a week now. I know it. I was down the street when they declared your heart had stopped. I remember everything." Dirk bit his lip slightly, scared of John's reaction to the news of this wasn't a prank. John was on the borderline of mad hysterics and complete insanity. "THAT'S FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE AND YOU KNOW IT. STOP LYING TO ME DIRK! PLEASE, STOP IT! YOU'RE HURTING ME!" John cried, grabbing at Dirk's legs desperately as tears streamed down his pale cheeks. The sight broke Dirk's heart. He'd never seen any one so broken. Then again, He'd never witnessed anyone realize they were dead before. 

John's sobbing grows more violent as he continues his break down. Dirk didn't know what to do! He wanted to help, oh god he really fucking did. But for the first time in his vaguely worthless life, Dirk Strider didn't know what to do. "John, Man! Pull yourself together! It's alright man, You're okay!" Dirk knelt down to John's level and enveloped the boy into his arms, feeling John's sobs rack his frail body. "We'll figure this out together. I promise." He whispers soothing words of encouragement into John's ears, trying to calm him down, at least a little bit. They needed to talk about this. They needed to think. What to do, How to break the news to the others. How to make John feel just a little bit less miserable. "Please listen to me John. We can get through this. We will get through this. I'm here, every step of the way. We will figure this out. We will." He said firmly, rubbing John's back comfortingly. "C-Can you tell me how it happened?" John spoke after a moment. His voice sounded so small and broken. Dirk cracked. Tears welled up in his eyes. For the first time in his life, Dirk's face wasn't just stoic and emotionless. He took a deep breath before opening his mouth. 

"It was about a week ago... You had gotten in a heated argument with Dave a-and you ran off. It was raining. It was raining so hard. But Dave refused to go look for you. He refused to apologize because he was so stubborn, so fucking stubborn. He couldn't stand to be wrong." Dirk sniffled softly, diverting his gaze to John's bruised face. "I'm guessing you weren't paying attention to where you were going. They said you either ran into the road or a driver swerved off the road. Either way, you were hit. You died on impact. The man who was driving was intoxicated. He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital." Dirk took a deep breath. "They called your dad first. The hospital, I mean. He was in hysterics, when he called me and Dave." Dirk chuckled slightly. 'We were foolish. We thought he was joking. We laughed a-and we... we hung up the phone. We didn't go to the hospital. We thought it was some sick prank. Like you. God i'm such an idiot." Dirk hissed, closing his eyes behind his shades. "Everyone started blowing up our phones, telling us to get down to the hospital. We finally stopped being so selfish and got up. As we were leaving.... We heard your name. You were on the news." Dirk laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "On the way to the hospital, i cried. I cried for you, and I cried for Dave. I cried for that poor man, who i'll never forgive for hurting you but who lost his life because of his stupidity. I cried for all the shit things that happened my life. I cried because i couldn't save you. I was down the street and i couldn't fucking protect you. I am so sorry John." Dirk's voice cracked, and he looked to the floor. "I've never drove so fast in my life. I drove about 20 over the speed limit, just trying to get to the hospital. I wanted to go in and see you awake, grinning like the dork you are. But by the time i got there, the doctor had already posted your time of death. 6:42 PM. Everyone surrounded your body and it was like a fucking group orgy of crying. Dave couldn't even make himself come into the room. He blamed himself. No, he still blames himself. And for that, I am so sorry." Dirk finally stopped talking. John was left speechless as he took in all of that information.

"I-I just.... tell Dave it's not his fault. It never was his fault. I shouldn't have ran off, and that guy shouldn't have been so reckless. But it is NOT your guys' faults. That argument was probably something dumb, Like Nic Cage. But i don't want him to be unhappy over that. I want him to think of the happy times we had, the good parts of life. Though I was stubborn and I did want to be right, like Dave. But that does not make it his fault. It was my own actions, and he should feel no remorse for it." John said quietly. "He may not believe you. But tell him i'm so sorry. And not to let me be the reason he lives his life with the burden of blame weighing him down. This should not rest on his shoulder. He is not to blame, and I don't blame him for my choices. I never have and i never will. Don't let him be miserable like me, Dirk. Promise me you won't let him." John begged, Grabbing Dirk's shoulders and making him look into his blank eyes. 'I-I promise you John. Your wish won't go unnoticed man. And I promise you won't be forgotten either. Don't worry at all, John." Dirk nods, murmuring his words with such a passion that John had to believe him, if even for a moment.

"Thank you, Dirk."

And together they sat in a comfortable silence, contemplating everything that just went down. The held each other close, as if protecting one another from any more sorrow. Shielded from the pain. The didn't say anything, because nothing needed to be said. It was all converted into energy, a bond so strong it could not be broken. They realized that they had each other. They would never be alone. Forgotten. Deserted. They need not have a feelings jam, because what was done was done. Talking about it would add salt to an open wound. They needed just the comfort, and the moral support of each other. And that didn't go unnoticed. Together they sat in a comfortable silence, thinking about one another. Together they sat in a comfortable silence, Believing in only each other right now. They conversated with themselves, in their sorry minds, as their feelings wavered slightly with each passing moment. They painted a mental picture in their brain, one that would never leave. Everything that they were feeling, every piece of anger that coursed through their bodies, crashed down below. All was good. All was well. They could see less than past their noses, but at the same time, everything was clearer now. They were broken, broken people. But they were broken together.

And that made everything just a bit more okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE HERE I TRIED TO MAKE THIS LONGER BUT IT CAME OUT CRAPPY AND GROSS AHH PLEASE DONT HATE ME -LIBBY


	3. 03%

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John attends his first funeral. Which, ironically, is his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drama ensues.

About half an hour after the boy's mini feelings jam, John's funeral service began. It wasn't a big thing, only his closest friends and their families were invited. There were tuns of flowers around. Carnations, roses, daisies, the whole lot. John sneezed. Even after death, he was allergic to pollen. 'What, did you guys pick these yourselves or something?" He grumbled, rubbing at his nose, the tip of it red from irritation. "Dave insisted on it. He said you deserved the real thing. I don't disagree but... Maybe we should've gone about it a different way?" Dirk chuckled slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. The two were making their way to the living room, where the service was being held. It wasn't a far walk, not usually at least. But John was postponing it. What should've been a three second walk was quickly approaching five minutes. "Come on, John. I know you don't wanna be here and all. Believe me, I don't necessarily either. But i'll look like a total asshat if I don't show. And I can't do that to Dave, either. He'd be so pissed." Dirk sighed.

John just groaned, before speeding up his steps ever so slightly as they arrived at their destination. "If you're uncomfortable, then you can wait out here." Dirk offered with a shrug. "I wouldn't want to attend my own funeral service either but hey, this is your decision, not mine." John thought about what he was going to do for a moment before shaking his head. "No. I wanna know what everybody has to say about me. And I wanna see my dad." He said firmly, waiting for Dirk to push open the door. "Whatever John, it's your funeral..... Oh my god I am so sorry disregard that." Dirk said hurriedly, before shaking his head and running into the holding area, where he proceeded to sit next to Dave and John's dad in the front row. 

The preacher looked around the room as the background music began to cease. He checked that everyone was here, before starting the ceremony. "Today we are gathered here, to remember the life of Jonathan Egbert, who was not only a loving son, but a caring friend to all. This service is not to grieve his death, but to celebrate his life and who he was as a person!" The preacher stopped for a moment, his eyes scanning the crowd before stopping on rose, who sat three seats to the left of Dave. "We'll start with Rose Lalonde, A former best friend of John's."

Rose took a deep breath before standing, making her way to the front of the room as all eyes diverted their attention to her. She stood in the front of the room, trying her best to maintain her posture, before beginning. "John was more than what was seen to the eye. He was dorky and caring, with this big, goofy smile that could light up a room in an instant." The girl laughed a bit, before going quiet once again. "I'd never seen John anything other than happy in my whole life. It even irritated me, sometimes, because I could never understand how he managed to stay so positive all of the time. He always had good grades.. which didn't help him at ALL when it came to sports, but he could cook like it was nobodies business. To make the story short, instead of rambling on all of John's minor achievements and actions that made him an amazing person, why not focus on the big idea? John's list of academic greatness would be too long for even me to read. His whole life was one big miracle. We were blessed to have him, even though it was in a short amount of time. I don't want to dwell on the past, or spend my life blaming myself for the reason he passed. And neither should you. Lets not make this about John dying. Lets make this about the time we had with him when he was alive. It's what he really wanted. Thank you." Rose nodded once, before returning to her seat slowly. Everything was quiet. You could hear a pin drop. Suddenly the room broke into applause. Even John clapped, though he knew no one could hear him. He was grateful that Rose didn't blame herself, and he was happy that the whole thing wouldn't be a montage of people talking about how sad it was that he'd passed.

After hours upon hours of people dwelling on how amazing John was, and still is, the service concluded and came to an end. Everyone contributed in helping John's father clean up the home, before sending him their prayers and heading home. Eventually it was just the Striders, The Lalondes, The Egberts , and Jade all sat in a comfortable silence in the living room. They all just weren't quite ready to let go of it, this, yet. But with Jade on a strict plane schedule back to her island and the Lalondes on an upcoming date with booze, soon it was just 3 men and a ghosty boy. Dave looked tense. John knew it was because of himself. "Can.... Can I go up to John's room?" He asked hesitantly, surprising John. What did Dave need that was up there? Maybe he'd left a shirt or something. Mr. Egbert excused Dave, and the boy made his way upstairs. John followed. He was interested on what was up with his best- former.. former best friend.

Dave made his way over to John's closet, and for a moment John held a small victorious feeling as he assumed he was correct. But instead Dave pulled out on of John's own shirts, his favorite one to be exact. It was white with a little green blobby ghost on the front. "I remember when you ordered this online.." Dave spoke softly. John looked up, startled. Could Dave see him? "The look of excitement on your face when it came in the mail... God you were so lame man. I loved it." Dave laughed slightly, though a small voice crack was evident. It dawned on John that the male was speaking to himself. "I miss ya man..." He whispered, lifting up his shades and wiping at his eyes. John was in shock, he'd never witnessed Dave Strider cry. He was always so emotionless, so stoic. He was too cool for crying. "I never got to tell you.." Dave dug around in his back pocket before producing a folded piece of slightly crumpled paper, before shoving it under John's pillow. He shook his head before sighing. "I hope you don't mind me stealing your shirt? I don't want your dad to get rid of it or something... It smells like you.." Dave sighed, adjusting his shades on his face. "If you can hear me, somewhere in this universe John, know that I love ya. We all did.. I hope you're having fun in your heaven and having stupid ass Nic Cage marathons." Dave chuckled, his watery eyes looking to the ceiling, then around the room. He took in John's little man cave, remembering all the memories he carried here. Before Dave could start to cry again, he hurried out of the room and down stairs, the shirt he'd taken from John's closet wrapped around his shoulders.

John blinked, before slowly walking over to his bed and lifting the note. There was a date on the back... It was the day before the day Dirk told him that he'd died on.

"I wonder what Dave had to say?" John wondered, before beginning to unfold the lined paper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> duh duh duhhh cliffhanger. Wonder what that note says ;)) -Libby


End file.
